Those who hoped today's consultation on the BBC would see the government "going to war" with the corporation will be disappointed. The tone of the document is not hostile. At times it sounds almost affectionate.

But the questions being asked, the areas selected for debate, amount to the biggest challenge to the BBC and its place in public life since its creation in the 1920s.

After my blog on Wednesday on tensions between drugs advisors and the Home Office, more details have emerged of how the expert panel on legal highs was split down the middle on whether to go for a total ban.

While ministers claim their Psychoactive Substances Bill reflects the findings of the experts, I am told that the hand-picked committee was divided on whether low-harm substances like amyl nitrate (poppers) and nitrous oxide (laughing gas) should be included.

"People must have more direct power over the areas in which they live," the prime minister declared in his introduction to the Queen's Speech. His chancellor is promising a "devolution revolution" for England, with the Cities Devolution Bill being debated for the first time in Parliament next week.

But how radical is the offer? England has been described as the most centralised state in the world (with the possible exception of North Korea). David Cameron insists transferring power away from Westminster is a vital part of his "one nation" political philosophy. But critics have dismissed the potential shift of power to city regions such as Greater Manchester as no more than "a fractional step".

The interim metro-mayor for the new Greater Manchester supercouncil says local control of £6bn in NHS and social care funds will not lead to a "breakaway health service". But Tony Lloyd would welcome a postcode lottery in the NHS where Greater Manchester provides better services for its residents than other parts of England.

His comments raise the prospect of a network of city-based power centres offering healthcare tailored for local needs. "We are not having the Whitehall mandarins, a long way away, making decisions about communities they don't understand," Mr Lloyd insists. "The North does need to raise its voice."

After my blog earlier this week and an appearance on the BBC News at Ten reporting on government plans to introduce extremist banning orders, it is upsetting to find myself accused of positively comparing the radical Islamist firebrand Anjem Choudary with civil rights hero Mahatma Gandhi.

I would understand people's shock and horror if I had - but I did not. Quite the reverse. Anjem Choudary is nothing like Mahatma Gandhi. Nor Nelson Mandela for that matter. Indeed, that was my point and I am saddened if it has been misconstrued.

At the heart of our democracy is Parliament Square in Westminster, Around it, statues to honour great statesmen. But would the occupants of the plinths survive the government's proposed extremism test?

Nelson Mandela advocated the violent overthrow of the South African state - Margaret Thatcher described the ANC as "a typical terrorist organisation".